Since I was a child, I believed I was not a good artist. I could not draw real life and people very well. It was a difficult art form to hone, so I gave up. I readily compared my art to others and felt ashamed. It made me not want to create any more than what was taught compulsory at school. 

In 2020 and 2021, when we were all forced to stay inside and find ways to entertain ourselves, I learned something valuable from my older sibling. That creating art was more than just drawing, it was more than just the end product, it was more than something only naturally talented people do. It is about the process. The fact that you are allowing yourself to explore, imagine and reimagine what your brain can do. 

This changed my outlook entirely… from years of holding myself to perfectionist standards of art which held me back from creating entirely, to realising that art is about allowing yourself to just have fun. 

At that moment, I had a deeply moving epiphany. Being creative is an integral part of our soul. It is innate. I learned from another artist (@yumisakugawa) that we are creative from the moment we are born. From when we acquire language as babies, when we plan our day, or decide what to make for our meals, when we decide what to teach ourselves and others, when we choose our own flowers at the florist, or when we choose what to wear that day, all of living life is a form of creativity. 

As soon as I absorbed this belief, a blockage in my heart and soul was liberated. I allowed myself to create, explore and indulge in any form of art to make up for time lost. It felt like creativity flowed through me easily, as I focused more on the process of enjoying what I was doing rather than what was created in the end. 

I realised that being creative was not only essential to enriching our livelihood, but that it is also deeply nurturing. Creating art nurtures my inner child and my inner teenager, who both wanted to create whatever they wanted, but had been barred by perfectionist ideals and negative self-belief for years. It enriched my adulthood and brought the people in my life closer together as we indulged in our mind’s most random ideas in a safe space where anything created was special because we had created it in that time and space together. 

Returning to art making reminded me that all of us are free, creative beings, who are always learning, as long as we open our hearts to it. When I taught at school, teaching students how to draw was something that captured everyone’s attention as it struck the creativity within all of us, and allowed us to have so much more fun.

Hence, Sopiya Bobbia was created. The name emerged from two nicknames I had when I was young, as I dedicate this mission to my inner child, who held back from creating for so long because they believed they weren’t good enough. 

My hopes and dreams in creating this art teaching business is to nurture every soul that wants to create, to nurture the souls that have been wounded and believe art is not for them, or who find it too hard or overwhelming, to nurture the ones who don’t know where to start. I want to inspire and share the peace and love I feel when I create. I truly believe every soul is creative. Let Sopiya Bobbia show you how. ♥️